The Damn Map Room!

This past weekend my wife, 8 month old daughter and I braved 6 hours in a car to go visit some friends in Chicago. The time in the car was a bit rough on my daughter at times, but all in all it was a great trip.
One of the places that I absolutely had to hit on my visit was the Map Room in the Bucktown area of Chicago. Before I go on to my thoughts on the Map Room, I have to explain a bit of a back story.
My good friend Josh (who the Bangy Tangy is named after, and inspired several of my Belgians) is the person who introduces me to a lot of Belgian beers. Josh moved from Phoenix to Chicago this last year and has been telling me about the Map Room since he first got to Chicago. So in October, I took a long weekend to go visit Josh (and of course the Map Room). The plan all along was to hit the Map Room on Saturday. Friday we went to Goose Island Brewpub and Josh got food poisoning. So Saturday, I spent the day playing video games while he puked most of the previous night out. As you can imagine...we didn't make it to the Map Room.
A few weeks later, I read an article about it in the Great Lakes Brewing News, and then saw it listed in the Beer Advocate's list of best beer bars. As Josh put it "it made that Saturday hurt a bit more." So this time, we were getting to the damn Map Room. Friday we went out to lunch in the area, but then had a hard time finding it, and there was a small snow storm. Fearing a long commute back to the suburbs, we didn't go to the Map Room. I was starting to wonder if fate did not want me to go to this mecca of beer! Finally, on Saturday, we made it to the Map Room (after getting lost again) and I said that this better be the best fucking bar I've ever been to!
Well, it pretty much is.
We offer over 200 unique brands representing 36 different brewing styles from the U.S. and all over the globe. Whether you choose from of our 26 taps, a cask-conditioned ale on handpump, or one of our bottled beers, the quality and selection is world-class. The proper glass is always used for each style, then rinsed before serving to insure optimal head retention.

The Map Room certainly doesn't disappoint. The ambiance is exactly up my alley, with a long old bar, small amounts of tables, and a very laid back, old/shitty bar atmosphere. There is an eclectic mix of old National Geographics, maps, flags, atlases, and other decorations to complete the feel. And the beers...an extremely impressive list. I am going to spare the reviews because of the length of this post as it is. I had two drafts: the Three Floyds Alpha King, an excellent hoppy ale from Indiana. And also Dogfish Head's Indian Brown Ale, also very good. Overall, the bar was well worth the wait and I could have spent hours and hours at this bar. Next time, that's the plan!

We consumed a lot of great beer this weekend. I was a kid in a candy store at the liquor store because there were a lot of beers I can't find here that were available in Illinois. This week I'll be reviewing Dogfish Head Chicory Stout, Butte Creak Organic Porter, and Triple Karmeliet. But instead of reviewing all the beers we drank, I'll just give a quick run down of some of the great beers we drank:
Triple Karmaleit
Chimay Cinq Cent
Delirum Tremens
Duvel
Allagash White Ale
Allagash Grand Cru
Hop Rye IPA
Dogfish Head Chicory Stout
Dogfish India Brown Ale
Butte Creek Organic Porter
St. Peters India Pale Ale

There might be a couple I'm forgetting. I really enjoyed both of the Allagash beers, fell in love with Triple Karmaliet, and really liked both of the Dogfishes I had. I spent way too much money at the liquor store and could have kept going! Great trip, great beer, and of course, a damn good bar!
All in all a great way to end my spring break.
Salud!
The Bearded Brewer